Scourge
The horrifying Undead army called the Scourge consists of thousands of walking corpses, disembodied spirits, damned mortal men and insidious extra-dimensional entities. The Scourge was created by Ner'zhul, the Lich King, under the direct control of the Burning Legion for the sole purpose of sewing terror across the world in anticipation of the Legion's inevitable invasion. The Lich King, who lorded over the icy realm of Northrend from his frozen throne, commanded the terrible plague of undeath which he sent ever southward into the human lands. As the plague encroached on the southlands, more and more humans fell prey to Ner'zhul's mental control and life-draining sickness every day. In this way, Ner'zhul swelled the ranks of the already considerable Scourge. Though Ner'zhul and his Undead Scourge were bound to the will of the Burning Legion, the Lich King constantly strove to free himself and gain vengeance upon the demons for dismembering his body and damning him so completely. At the Battle of Mount Hyjal, Ner'zhul was robbed of his chance for vengeance when Archimonde was slain and the Legion defeated. However, it was at this point that he was finally capable of making his bid for freedom, effectively cutting all ties to the remaining demons as well as the remaining demon lord, Kil'jaeden. Such a move inspired Kil'Jaeden to incredible heights of anger, and it was thus the demon's turn to lust after vengeance. Stripped of his capacity to simply bring about swift destruction thanks to the Legion's defeat, Kil'Jaeden was forced to use more subtle methods to dispose of his rebellious creation. At some point shortly after the Battle of Mount Hyjal, Kil'Jaeden contacted Illidan Stormrage with an offer too tempting for the Demon Hunter to refuse: slay the Lich King, and be granted the awesome power of the demon lord. Gathering his formerly-Highborne allies, the Naga, Illidan proceeded to travel to the citadel of Dalaran and begin weaving a massive spell targeting the Frozen Throne using the Eye of Sargeras. However, this spell was interrupted in the eleventh hour by Malfurion, Maiev Shadowsong and Prince Kael. The spell was not completed, but enough of the potent fel energy had been siphoned so as to cause a fracture in the Lich King's icy prison. This caused Ner'zhul to begin losing his power to control his undead at a rapid pace. It was during this time that a large band of undead, led by Sylvanas Windrunner, regained their free will and left the Scourge, calling themselves the Forsaken. Desperate, he telepathically contacted Arthas, the greatest of his Deathknights, and commanded him to return to Icecrown at once. However, the matter was complicated by Kil'Jaeden once again. Growing impatient with Illidan's failures, the demon lord instructed him as well as his allies the Naga -- and, newly, the Blood Elves -- to travel to Northrend and put an end to the Lich King personally. Arthas' undead forces thus met Illidan's army at the base of the glacier and engaged in an epic showdown which eventually left Illidan wounded and his troops broken. Arthas, victorious, proceeded into the Lich King's throne chamber, where he used the runeblade Frostmourne to shatter the Frozen Throne and free the essence of Ner'zhul. The spirit of the Orcish shaman then bonded with that of the King of Lordaeron, and Arthas/Ner'zhul became one of the most powerful beings the world had ever known. Four years after the transformation of the Lich King, Arthas is still residing in Northrend, apparently rebuilding the citadel of Icecrown. While the status of the Scourge in the northern continent is currently unknown, the undead in Lordaeron under the command of Arthas' majordomo, Kel'Thuzad, have suffered defeat after defeat in recent times. Heroes from both the Horde and the Alliance have struck devastating blows to the Scourge bastions of Andorhal, the Scholomance, and Stratholme, as well as a number of other sites in the Plaguelands. Nethertheless, Kel'Thuzad has amazingly managed to continue achieving his goal, to hold the Plaguelands from the enemies of his lord, Arthas. Any other reasons for his mission are still unkown, but it is very likely that Arthas is planning to retake all of former Lordaeron from the Forsaken, and maybe to conquer the whole world as we know it. Category:Game Terms Category:Lore Category:Faction Category:Scourge